Dev.D (2009)
Movie · 2009 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 24m · HI
Curator score: 6.4/10 (22.1K ratings)
Tagline: Get Ready for Emotional Atyachar
The son of a wealthy businessman finds solace in drugs and alcohol when he breaks up with his childhood love.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 6.4/10
- Letterboxd: 3.70/5
- TMDB: 7.0/10
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Production: UTV Spotboy Motion Pictures, UTV Motion Pictures, Anurag Kashyap Films
Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin, Parakh Madan, Kuldeep Singh, Gurkirtan, Sanjay Kumar, Aseem Sharma, Satwant Kaur, Shena Gamat, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sunil Grover, Binnu Dhillon
Curator Review
Verdict: A stylish, darkly funny, and emotionally bruised reinvention of the Devdas story, Dev.D turns heartbreak into a neon-soaked descent through addiction, shame, and self-destruction. It’s messy on purpose, but the bold visual language, sharp soundtrack, and fearless tonal shifts make it a standout modern romance-drama.
Best for: Viewers who like offbeat, experimental takes on classic stories; Fans of romantic dramas with a cynical, self-destructive edge; People drawn to neon nightlife, music-driven filmmaking, and visual bravado; Audiences open to sex, drugs, and emotional chaos as character study
Skip if: You want a straightforward, sentimental romance; You dislike abrasive tonal swings or fragmented storytelling; You prefer restrained realism over stylized excess; You’re looking for a clean redemption arc or likable protagonist
Overview: Dev.D takes a familiar tragic-romance template and drags it into the present tense, where heartbreak becomes addiction, performance, and self-annihilation. The film’s biggest strength is its confidence: it doesn’t just modernize the story, it remixes it into something feverish, funny, and emotionally unstable.
Worth noting: Anurag Kashyap’s direction gives the film a restless energy, moving from raw intimacy to surreal comic detours without losing its sense of despair. The characters feel trapped inside a world of neon lights, bad decisions, and half-formed fantasies, which makes the emotional damage feel contemporary rather than melodramatic.
Bottom line: It won’t work for everyone, especially if you want a tidy romance or a conventional moral center. But if you’re open to a film that’s messy, provocative, and visually alive, Dev.D is one of the more distinctive Indian films of its era.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- irmavep: Shoutout to Kashyap for having Chanda apply literal clown makeup to Dev at one point
- Brighid: Seeing Nawaz in whiteface as Elvis is all I ever needed in this world
- Veedee: you can be hot, but you can never be abhay deol in dev.d hot
- chaitrang: Lonely people at neon cities.
- NOTfromMARS: This is what Kabir Singh wished it was
Recommended similar titles:
- Black Friday (2004 · Crime, Drama · 2h 42m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (98 ratings))
A hard-edged, kinetic Anurag Kashyap film that shares the same restless energy and refusal to soften its subject matter.
- Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012 · Action, Thriller, Crime · 2h 40m · Curator 8.7/10 (147.9K ratings))
For viewers who respond to the film’s swagger, dark humor, and abrasive modernity, this is another sprawling, music-charged Kashyap experience.
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- The Lunchbox (2013 · Drama, Romance · 1h 44m · Curator 8.5/10 (137.4K ratings))
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- Masaan (2015 · Drama · 1h 49m · PG-13 · Curator 8.6/10 (35.3K ratings))
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- Anand (1971 · Drama · 2h 2m · Curator 8.3/10 (49.2K ratings))
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- Barfi! (2012 · Drama, Romance, Comedy · 2h 31m · Curator 7.8/10 (130.8K ratings))
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- The Virgin Suicides (2000 · Drama, Romance · 1h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV)
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- Requiem for a Dream (2000 · Crime, Drama · 1h 42m · NR · Curator 8.4/10 (2.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Peacock Premium, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now, Peacock Premium Plus)
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Topics: neo-noir, romantic drama, dark comedy, addiction, urban alienation, stylized visuals, soundtrack-driven, coming-of-age, modern India, melancholy
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/dev-d/15977
Dev.D (2009)
Movie · 2009 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 24m · HI
Curator score: 6.4/10 (22.1K ratings)
Get Ready for Emotional Atyachar
Overview The son of a wealthy businessman finds solace in drugs and alcohol when he breaks up with his childhood love.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.70/5
TMDB: 7.0/10
Production UTV Spotboy Motion Pictures, UTV Motion Pictures, Anurag Kashyap Films
Cast Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin, Parakh Madan, Kuldeep Singh, Gurkirtan, Sanjay Kumar, Aseem Sharma, Satwant Kaur, Shena Gamat, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sunil Grover, Binnu Dhillon
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, darkly funny, and emotionally bruised reinvention of the Devdas story, Dev.D turns heartbreak into a neon-soaked descent through addiction, shame, and self-destruction. It’s messy on purpose, but the bold visual language, sharp soundtrack, and fearless tonal shifts make it a standout modern romance-drama.
Best for
Viewers who like offbeat, experimental takes on classic stories
Fans of romantic dramas with a cynical, self-destructive edge
People drawn to neon nightlife, music-driven filmmaking, and visual bravado
Audiences open to sex, drugs, and emotional chaos as character study
Skip if
You want a straightforward, sentimental romance
You dislike abrasive tonal swings or fragmented storytelling
You prefer restrained realism over stylized excess
You’re looking for a clean redemption arc or likable protagonist
Overview
Dev.D takes a familiar tragic-romance template and drags it into the present tense, where heartbreak becomes addiction, performance, and self-annihilation. The film’s biggest strength is its confidence: it doesn’t just modernize the story, it remixes it into something feverish, funny, and emotionally unstable.
Worth noting
Anurag Kashyap’s direction gives the film a restless energy, moving from raw intimacy to surreal comic detours without losing its sense of despair. The characters feel trapped inside a world of neon lights, bad decisions, and half-formed fantasies, which makes the emotional damage feel contemporary rather than melodramatic.
Bottom line
It won’t work for everyone, especially if you want a tidy romance or a conventional moral center. But if you’re open to a film that’s messy, provocative, and visually alive, Dev.D is one of the more distinctive Indian films of its era.
Top Letterboxd reviews
irmavep (4★) · 1305 likes
Shoutout to Kashyap for having Chanda apply literal clown makeup to Dev at one point
Brighid (4.5★) · 808 likes
Seeing Nawaz in whiteface as Elvis is all I ever needed in this world
Veedee (4★) · 591 likes
you can be hot, but you can never be abhay deol in dev.d hot
chaitrang (4.5★) · 476 likes
Lonely people at neon cities.
NOTfromMARS (4★) · 429 likes
This is what Kabir Singh wished it was
Recommended similar titles
2004 · Crime, Drama · 2h 42m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (98 ratings)
A hard-edged, kinetic Anurag Kashyap film that shares the same restless energy and refusal to soften its subject matter.
2012 · Action, Thriller, Crime · 2h 40m · Curator 8.7/10 (147.9K ratings)
For viewers who respond to the film’s swagger, dark humor, and abrasive modernity, this is another sprawling, music-charged Kashyap experience.
2010 · Drama · 2h 18m · R · Curator 8.6/10 (49.9K ratings)
A bruising coming-of-age drama about escape, shame, and emotional suffocation, with a similarly raw contemporary sensibility.
2013 · Drama, Romance · 1h 44m · Curator 8.5/10 (137.4K ratings)
If what lingers is the loneliness and urban melancholy, this offers a quieter but equally affecting portrait of isolation.
2012 · Mystery, Thriller · 2h 2m · Curator 7.8/10 (88.7K ratings)
A sleek, modern Indian thriller with strong atmosphere and a confident sense of city life as emotional terrain.
2015 · Drama · 1h 49m · PG-13 · Curator 8.6/10 (35.3K ratings)
A contemporary Indian drama about grief, desire, and social constraint, with a similarly humane but unsentimental outlook.
1971 · Drama · 2h 2m · Curator 8.3/10 (49.2K ratings)
A very different tonal approach, but it shares an interest in emotional truth and the bittersweet shape of love and loss.
2012 · Drama, Romance, Comedy · 2h 31m · Curator 7.8/10 (130.8K ratings)
For audiences who like romantic storytelling that bends tone, style, and emotion in unconventional ways.
2000 · Drama, Romance · 1h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV
A mood piece about longing, youth, and doomed romantic projection, with a similarly dreamy melancholy.
2000 · Crime, Drama · 1h 42m · NR · Curator 8.4/10 (2.5M ratings) · Where to watch: Peacock Premium, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now, Peacock Premium Plus
For the uncompromising depiction of addiction as a destructive emotional and physical force, though far more severe in tone.
Topics
neo-noir, romantic drama, dark comedy, addiction, urban alienation, stylized visuals, soundtrack-driven, coming-of-age, modern India, melancholy
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